
Owls Extend Invite Streak to 10 Years
3/26/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
by Chuck Pool (cpool@rice.edu) -
Eric Rutledge wrapped up an unbeaten weekend in singles while Emanuel Llamas and Henrik Munch provided the closing punch as the 37th ranked Rice men's tennis team downed Texas A&M Corpus Christi 4-0 in the final match of the Texas Tamale Company Rice Invitational on Sunday.
The win over the Islanders completed an unbeaten weekend for the Owls (19-5), who captured their invitational for the 10th consecutive year.
"The third day of this tournament is usually a pretty tough one," Rice head coach Efe Ustundag said. "Last year we played a top ten team (Texas Tech) in the third round and we were in a situation where, playing at home, we really didn't have a lot to lose and we came our fired up and played really well.
"The script was a little flipped in this case. We were the higher ranked team and Corpus had a bad weekend up to that point and they had nothing to lose today. They fought until the last point. That's the character of their team. They really fight hard and we've never had easy matches with them," Ustundag added.
The Owls made their path to victory somewhat easier by snapping a four-match skein and winning the doubles point, a point that became much more valuable after the two teams split the six first sets in singles evenly.
It fell to Rutledge to provide some breathing room and he delivered, downing Carlos Pedrosa, 6-4, 6-2 to give the Owls some breathing room. "All weekend long, he was on point," Ustundag said. "He didn't drop a set in three matches and he was our anchor. "
Munch followed with a straight set win at the sixth position and Llamas shook off a loss in the second set to close out the contest with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 win over Gonzalo Achondo.
The three wins for the Owls extended their current winning streak to eight matches, but that streak will have to wait two weeks to be put to the test when the Owls travel to New Orleans to take on Tulane. Ustundag is happy for the upcoming time off.
"I'm excited that we have about 14 days before we play again. It gives us a chance to get a little healthy and rest our bodies. It's been a long season where we've had to play a lot on the road and that takes its toll with schoolwork and everything. Hopefully by next week, we'll be back to 100% and get ready for the final push," he stated.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,2
Order of Finish:
4,6,5